As it has been published by the Cyprus Mail one of the most trusted news sites in Cyprus, the Interior Minister Nicos Nouris says the Cyprus Investment Programme is secure and strong.
The International organisations have long criticised 10 EU countries for their the programs offering the residency and citizenship in exchange for investment, but the Cyprus government has not only addressed these criticisms in its new proposal, but also improved Programme security and administration.
Mr. Nouris notes, that the security is strongly improved and the candidates are carefully vetted when they apply, and the providers for the candidates are also vetted. Once candidates are approved, their conduct as residents in Cyprus is reviewed each year for 10 years, and if they break Cyprus laws or engage in other undesirable activities, the passport can be revoked.
The Minister also pointed to the application of the anti-money laundering legislation with the Programme as another important improvement.
There have also been significant administrative improvements – the processing of applications has taken longer in the past; now it has been accelerated to six months.
Although the pandemic has caused a reduction of the number of applications, Mr. Nouris expects that to change and to see the number of applications increasing rapidly.
